Building structure for garage mounted apparatus

ABSTRACT

A building structure for garage mounted air conditioning apparatus includes a garage having an interior defined by a plurality of walls including at least one exterior wall on which a concealed condensing unit (CCU) of the air conditioning apparatus is mountable, a ceiling, and a garage door of an overhead type which is engageably displaceable along a track having an inverted L-shape. The at least one exterior wall is formed with at least one through-hole opening in a headroom between a horizontal section of the track and the garage ceiling which is in fluid communication with the CCU.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of building structures. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a building structure for garagemounted air conditioning apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many air conditioning systems are of the split type that comprises anoutdoor unit that includes a compressor, condenser and fan for drawingambient air across the condenser, an indoor unit including an evaporatorand a fan for drawing the interior air across the evaporator so that theconditioned air will be discharged to the space to be conditioned, and aconduit through which refrigerant flows in a closed cooling or heatingcycle between the outdoor and indoor units.

However, the outdoor unit housed in a large-sized casing is unsightlyand also adds noise pollution. These deficiencies are exacerbated in anurban environment or in a multi-family dwelling where a high populationdensity results in a proliferation of outdoor units.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a building structurethat facilitates the installation of a split air conditioning systemthat does not detract from the appearance of the building, yet thatprovides a superior air conditioning effect.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description proceeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A building structure for garage mounted air conditioning apparatuscomprises a garage having an interior defined by a plurality of wallsincluding at least one exterior wall on which a concealed condensingunit (CCU) of the air conditioning apparatus is mountable, a ceiling,and a garage door of an overhead type which is engageably displaceablealong a track having an inverted L-shape, wherein said at least oneexterior wall is formed with at least one through-hole opening in aheadroom between a horizontal section of the track and the garageceiling which is in fluid communication with the CCU.

The building structure is preferably further configured with one or moremounting elements for mounting the CCU onto one of the exterior garagewalls, wherein the CCU has a casing for enclosing CCU componentsincluding a freestanding compressor and a condenser coil, said one ormore mounting elements configured to mount the casing having a maximumheight approximately equal to the height of the compressor and less thanthe height of the headroom without interfering with the horizontalsection of the track or with the garage door when set to an openedposition and in engagement with the horizontal section of the track.

In one aspect, the at least one through-hole opening is an openingthrough which CCU exhaust air is exhausted to the atmosphere and the oneor more mounting elements is a frame member surrounding the openingthrough which CCU exhaust air is exhausted to the atmosphere, whereinsaid frame member is configured in such a way that an exhaust opening ofthe CCU is aligned with the opening through which CCU exhaust air isexhausted to the atmosphere.

In one aspect, the at least one through-hole opening is an openingthrough which intake air from the atmosphere is introduced to the CCUand the one or more mounting elements is a frame member surrounding theopening through which intake air is introduced, wherein said framemember is configured in such a way that an intake opening of the CCU isaligned with the opening through which intake air is introduced.

In one aspect, a second exterior garage wall spaced from a firstexterior garage wall on which the CCU is mounted is formed with a ductopening within which a duct extending to the CCU is fixed. The ductopening is formed in a headroom between a horizontal section of thetrack and the garage ceiling.

In one aspect, the building structure is additionally configured with atleast one penetration formed in the garage ceiling, a correspondingconduit through which flows a refrigerant adapted to condition at leastone interior room of the building extending upwardly through said atleast one penetration to an indoor unit of the air conditioningapparatus.

In one aspect, the building structure is additionally configured with adrain element through which condensate produced by the CCU isdischargeable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from within the interior of a garage havinga structure according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective and schematic, exploded view of one type of aconcealed condensing unit;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the top of another type of a concealedcondensing unit, shown with the casing thereof partially removed;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view from within the interior of the garage ofFIG. 1, showing the building structure when the concealed condensingunit is removed;

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of a building structure, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a casing of a concealed condensing unitused in conjunction with the building structure of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a casing of a concealed condensing unitused in conjunction with the building structure of another embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of a portion of a garage, showing abuilding structure according to another embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of a portion of a garage, showing abuilding structure according to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A building structure facilitates the mounting of the outdoor unit of asplit-type air conditioning system within a residential garage adaptedto protect a parked car from precipitation, while concealing the outdoorunit and improving the appearance of the building.

The type of residential garage that is used is one that is attached to ahouse, or that is spaced by a small distance from a house. An attachedgarage may be equipped with a locked garage door and with an entry doorthat leads to the interior of the house, for the comfort of thepassengers of the car.

By virtue of the proximity of the garage to the house, the wall space ofthe garage is generally used as convenient storage space for items notneeded within the house such as outdoor tools and a bike rack or forinfrequently used items such as a ladder and lumber. At times bumpers,often in the form of old tires, are mounted on a garage wall to absorbthe impact caused by an improperly parked car, and reduce the availablewall space. Accordingly, a residential garage is generally unsuitablefor the installation therewithin of a conventional outdoor unit having aheight of at least approximately 40 inches due to the depletion ofvaluable storage space.

The building structure helps to improve the appearance of the housewithout reducing the available storage space within a garage byproviding one or more mounting elements for the outdoor unit of asplit-type air conditioning system within the normally unused clearanceof a garage wall above a track along which a garage door is engageablydisplaced when being moved from a closed position to an open position,or vice versa.

As shown in FIG. 1, a residential garage 10 is generally equipped withtwo laterally spaced tracks 5 (only one being shown) of invertedL-shape. Overhead garage door 3, made of a plurality of articulatedpanels and normally set to the illustrated closed position, is guidedalong the two tracks 5 by a set of rollers. Each track 5 has a verticalsection 2 rising to about a height of eight inches below the doorheight, a horizontal section 4 supporting the majority of door 3 whenset to an opened position, and a curved section 7 extending betweenvertical section 2 and horizontal section 4. The terminal end ofhorizontal section 4 is supported by a vertical hanger 9 connected tothe ceiling 13 of garage 10. A center rail 14 for guiding an armconnected to garage door 3 and an electric door operator 17, which maybe electronically controlled, are also provided.

Since the standard headroom 11, or clearance between horizontal section4 and ceiling 13, is only 14.25 inches for a curved section 7 having aradius of 15 inches, this clearance is invariably unused for storagespace due to its small size, inaccessibility and the need for mounting abracket or the like for supporting the storage apparatus to garage wall19, thereby further reducing the available storage space. Also, aconventional outdoor unit having a height of at least approximately 40inches cannot be suitably mounted within headroom 11.

The use of a concealed condensing unit (CCU) 20 will obviate thegeometric constraints related to mounting an outside unit withinheadroom 11.

As schematically illustrated in FIG. 2, CCU 20A, generally ducted,comprises compressor 21, condenser coil 24, which may be of amultidirectional shape, through which flows pressurized refrigerantreceived from compressor, one or more centrifugal fans 25, and PCB 26for controlling the operation of compressor 21 and each fan 25. Air isdrawn into intake opening 28, which may be protected by a grille, byeach centrifugal fan 25 and is forced to flow, in accordance with theconfiguration of condenser coil 24 and the CCU casing 27, across thewidth of condenser coil 24 and along the entire length thereof in orderto condense the refrigerant. The exhaust heat transferred from therefrigerant to the air flow exiting condenser coil 24 is drawn througheach centrifugal fan 25 and discharged through each exhaust opening 29.

The discharged exhaust air is hot when the CCU is operating in a coolingmode and is cold when the CCU is operating in a heating mode.

As opposed to the conventional large-dimensioned outdoor unit thatemploys an axial fan to induce air flow axially along the verticallyoriented shaft of the fan blades, CCU 20A employs the one or morecentrifugal fans 25 to induce radial air flow, generally 90 degreesrelative to the horizontally oriented shaft driving the fan wheel onwhich are mounted backward-curved blades. The outer diameter of eachcentrifugal fan housing from which the radial air flow exits through acorresponding exhaust opening 29 under the influence of centrifugalforce is therefore able to be significantly smaller than the outerdiameter of an axial fan, resulting in a relatively small CCU height ofapproximately 11 inches that can be mounted in the headroom above agarage door track, while taking into account the thickness of the garagedoor, without being subjected to overheating.

Alternatively, a CCU 20B schematically illustrated in FIG. 3 may beused. CCU 20B having a similar configuration as CCU 20A of FIG. 2 mayemploy a plurality of axial fans 32 provided with a horizontallyoriented shaft, allowing the height of the axial fans to be less thanthe freestanding compressor 21 and the height of CCU casing 37 to beapproximately 11 inches.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which schematically illustratesbuilding structure 40, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. Building structure 40 is configured with an opening 49 formedin the headroom region 11 of garage wall 19, through which the CCUexhaust air is discharged to the surroundings externally to garage wall19. A frame element 42 surrounding opening 49, to which the CCU ismounted, is fixed within garage wall 19.

According to this arrangement, the exhaust air discharged from the CCUis directed outwardly from the garage interior, without being bothersometo any person located within the garage interior by virtue of theelevated height of headroom region 11. Intake air may be derived fromthe garage interior and received by the intake opening of the CCU. Theexhaust air discharged from the exhaust opening of the CCU is thusexhausted via opening 49 to the atmosphere.

Although the standard sideroom, or space available between a track 5 andgarage wall 19 is 4.5 inches, while referring also to FIG. 1, a CCUmounted within the headroom of garage wall 19 will protrude laterallyinto the space between, and above, the two tracks 5 without interferingwith a schematically illustrated garage door 3′ set to the openedposition.

Building structure 40 is also configured with one or more penetrations57 to accommodate the extension therethrough of a corresponding numberof conduits through which the refrigerant circulates between the CCU andthe indoor unit and of electrical wires for operating the airconditioning system. A penetration 57 is shown to be formed in garageceiling 13 when a habitable region of the house is constructedtherebove, although it will be appreciated that the penetrations can beformed in any suitable garage surface, such as in a wall adjoining anentry door leading to the interior of the house.

As shown in FIG. 9, a building structure 45 may include an air dischargefitting 47 extending from the exhaust opening of CCU 30 may be fixed toair opening 49 formed within garage wall 19. Air discharge fitting 47may be coupled, releasably or fixedly, to the periphery of air opening49 by a corresponding bracket, or other mounting means 46 well known tothose skilled in the art. The heated exhaust air flows through airdischarge fitting 47 to air opening 49, from which it is exhausted tothe atmosphere, thus preventing overheating of the garage interior.Alternatively, fitting 47 may be an air intake channel extending fromair opening 49 to which it is coupled to the air intake opening of CCU30.

A layout of air conditioning system 55 within house 59 is illustrated inFIG. 5. Air conditioning system 55 comprises garage-mounted CCU 30,indoor unit 62, and at least one conduit 61, e.g. horizontally andvertically extending segments of a copper conduit, through which therefrigerant circulates between CCU 30 and indoor unit 62. CCU 30 isshown to be spaced from garage ceiling 13. When house 59 is amulti-story house and indoor unit 62 is mounted in attic space 68,although it will be appreciated that indoor unit 62 may be mounted inany other suitable interior space, building structure 40 is alsoconfigured with one or more penetrations 66 formed in the ceiling 67interfacing a second floor 64, for example, with attic space 68, throughwhich each conduit 61 extends, in addition to extending throughpenetration 57 through garage ceiling 13. Indoor unit 62 may operate inconjunction with a central air conditioning system, or, alternatively,may be an independent unit positioned in a specific room within house59.

When indoor unit 62 is a heat exchanger operable in a cooling mode,cooled liquid refrigerant under high pressure exits the condenser coilof CCU 30 and flows upwardly to an expansion valve of indoor unit 62,which restricts the flow of the refrigerant and causes its pressure tobe reduced. The low-pressure liquid refrigerant flows to the evaporator,across which interior air from an interior room of building structure 40to be conditioned is drawn by the fan of indoor unit 62, and absorbsheat from the interior air. The conditioned air is discharged to theinterior room, and the refrigerant is changed to a gaseous state. Theheated low-pressure gaseous refrigerant then flows downwardly to thecompressor of CCU 30 to repeat the cycle.

Indoor unit 62 may also be configured as an air handling unit (AHU)comprising a mixing box within which is blended air from a return ductexiting the room to be conditioned and air from a supply duct, and ablower for forcing the blended air to flow across an evaporatorcontaining the refrigerant, or as a fan coil unit (FCU) provided with acoil through which the refrigerant flows and a fan to condition a roomwithout being connecting to ductwork.

Building structure 40 may also be configured with a drain element 69through which condensate produced, for example in a heating mode, isdischargeable. Drain element 69 may be provided in proximity to thecondenser coil, or to any other region of CCU 30.

Drain element 69 may also be a pipe that is installed at a lowest pointof garage 10, which may be located directly below CCU 30, and thatslopes underground towards the street. The collected condensate may begravitationally drained, for example to the sewerage system of thebuilding, or may be delivered by a pump to a drain system.Alternatively, drain element 69 may be any other drain element wellknown to those skilled in the art.

For the cooling mode, a drain element, e.g. elongated, may be fixatedwithin a vertical drain pipe extending through penetrations 57 and 66,to receive condensate generated by indoor unit 62. Such a drain elementis configured in such a way to discharge the condensate while bypassingCCU 30.

The casing 31 of CCU 30, which facilitates efficient operation of theair conditioning system in conjunction with building structure 40 (FIG.5), is illustrated in FIG. 6. Casing 31 has a rectilinear configuration,although other configurations are also possible. Front and rear serviceaccess panels 33 are provided to ensure that intake opening 38 andexhaust opening 39 will be substantially mutually parallel. CCU 30 maybe of the same height of CCU 20A of FIG. 2, and comprises the same airconditioning components as CCU 20A, while the internal arrangement ofthe air conditioning components is different to accommodate thesubstantially mutually parallel relation of intake opening 38 andexhaust opening 39. The substantially mutually parallel relation ofintake opening 38 and exhaust opening 39 ensures that the exhaust airwill not infiltrate into the intake air, to prevent a reduction in thethermodynamic efficiency of the cycle due to the increased temperatureof the intake air, even if externally mounted ducts were not employed.

In another embodiment, a CCU 70 shown in FIG. 7 may be employed. Casing71 of CCU 70 has a rectilinear configuration, although otherconfigurations are also possible. Access panels 74 and 75 are providedto ensure that intake opening 78 and exhaust opening 79 will besubstantially mutually perpendicular. CCU 70 may be of the same heightof CCU 20A of FIG. 2, and comprises the same air conditioning componentsas CCU 20A, while the internal arrangement of the air conditioningcomponents is different to accommodate the substantially mutuallyperpendicular relation of intake opening 78 and exhaust opening 79. Thesubstantially mutually perpendicular relation of intake opening 78 andexhaust opening 79 ensures that the exhaust air will not infiltrate intothe intake air even if externally mounted ducts are not employed.

Building structure 80 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a duct opening 89formed in garage wall 86 spaced from, such as being opposite to, garagewall 19 on which is mounted CCU 30. The garage wall which is formed withduct opening 89 is dependent upon the CCU configuration, as shown inFIG. 6 or FIG. 7. An air discharge duct 82 extending from the exhaustopening of CCU 30 may be fixed to duct opening 89. Air discharge duct 82may be coupled, releasably or fixedly, to the periphery of duct opening89 by a corresponding bracket, or other mounting means 88 well known tothose skilled in the art. The heated exhaust air flows through airdischarge duct 82 to duct opening 89, from which it is exhausted to theatmosphere, thus preventing overheating of the garage interior.Alternatively, duct 82 may be an air intake duct extending from ductopening 89 to which it is coupled to the air intake opening of CCU 30,and the exhaust air is discharged via the exhaust opening of CCU 30 andopening 49 (FIG. 4).

While some embodiments of the invention have been described by way ofillustration, it will be apparent that the invention can be carried outwith many modifications, variations and adaptations, and with the use ofnumerous equivalents or alternative solutions that are within the scopeof persons skilled in the art, without exceeding the scope of theclaims.

1. A building structure for a garage mounted air conditioning apparatus,comprising a garage having an interior defined by a plurality of wallsincluding a garage door of an overhead type which is engageablydisplaceable along a track having an inverted L-shape, at least oneexterior side wall substantially perpendicular to said garage door whensaid garage door is set to a closed position on which a concealedcondensing unit (CCU) constituting an outdoor unit of split-type airconditioning apparatus is mountable, and a garage ceiling, wherein oneof said at least one exterior side wall is formed with at least onethrough-hole opening which is in fluid communication with the CCU in aheadroom between a horizontal section of the track and the garageceiling and in a sideroom located between the horizontal section andsaid one exterior side wall.
 2. The building structure according toclaim 1, further configured with one or more mounting elements formounting the CCU onto the one exterior garage side wall, wherein the CCUhas a casing for enclosing CCU components including a freestandingcompressor and a condenser coil, said one or more mounting elementsconfigured to mount the casing having a maximum height approximatelyequal to the height of the compressor and less than the height of theheadroom without interfering with the horizontal section of the track orwith the garage door when set to an opened position and is in engagementwith the horizontal section of the track.
 3. The building structureaccording to claim 2, wherein the at least one through-hole opening isan opening through which CCU exhaust air is exhausted to the atmosphereand the one or more mounting elements is a frame member surrounding theopening through which CCU exhaust air is exhausted to the atmosphere,wherein said frame member is configured in such a way that an exhaustopening of the CCU is aligned with the opening through which CCU exhaustair is exhausted to the atmosphere.
 4. The building structure accordingto claim 2, wherein the at least one through-hole opening is an openingthrough which intake air from the atmosphere is introduced to the CCUand the one or more mounting elements is a frame member surrounding theopening through which intake air is introduced, wherein said framemember is configured in such a way that an intake opening of the CCU isaligned with the opening through which intake air is introduced.
 5. Thebuilding structure according to claim 1, wherein a second exteriorgarage side wall spaced from a first exterior garage side wall on whichthe CCU is mounted is formed with a duct opening within which a ductextending to the CCU is fixed.
 6. The building structure according toclaim 5, wherein the duct opening is formed in the headroom between thehorizontal section of the track and the garage ceiling.
 7. The buildingstructure according to claim 1, which is additionally configured with atleast one penetration formed in the garage ceiling, a correspondingconduit through which flows a refrigerant adapted to condition at leastone interior room of the building extending upwardly through said atleast one penetration to an indoor unit of the air conditioningapparatus.
 8. The building structure according to claim 1, which isadditionally configured with a drain element through which condensateproduced by the CCU is dischargeable.
 9. The building structureaccording to claim 11, wherein a maximum height of the at least onethrough-hole opening is less than the maximum height of the CCU casing.10. The building structure according to claim 1, wherein the building isconfigured with the garage mounted air conditioning apparatus, and thebuilding has: a) the garage having the interior defined by the pluralityof walls including the garage door of an overhead type which isengageably displaceable along a track having an inverted L-shape, theleast one exterior side wall substantially perpendicular to the garagedoor when the garage door is set to a closed position, and the garageceiling; b) a concealed condensing unit (CCU) constituting an outdoorunit of split-type air conditioning apparatus; and c) an indoor unit ofthe split-type air conditioning apparatus between which and said CCU arefrigerant is circulatable, said indoor unit being mounted in aninterior space of the building other than the garage, wherein said CCUis configured to cooperate in conditioning said interior space, but notthe garage, and is mounted in the headroom of one of the at least oneexterior side wall between the horizontal section of the track and thegarage ceiling and in the sideroom located between the horizontalsection and the one exterior side wall without interfering with thegarage door when the garage door is set to an opened position and is inengagement with the horizontal section of the track, and is in fluidcommunication with the at least one through-hole opening formed at theheadroom and at the sideroom.
 11. The building structure according toclaim 10, wherein the CCU comprises components that include a fan, afreestanding compressor, a condenser coil, and a casing that enclosesthe compressor and condenser coil and that has a height which is lessthan the height of the headroom, to prevent overheating of the fan andof the compressor.
 12. The building structure according to claim 11,wherein the casing has a height which is less than 0.8 times the heightof the headroom.
 13. The building structure according to claim 10,further configured with one or more mounting elements for mounting theCCU onto the one exterior garage side wall.
 14. The building structureaccording to claim 13, wherein the at least one through-hole opening isan opening through which CCU exhaust air is exhausted to the atmosphereto prevent overheating of the garage interior and the one or moremounting elements is a frame member surrounding the opening throughwhich CCU exhaust air is exhausted to the atmosphere, wherein said framemember is configured in such a way that an exhaust opening of the CCU isaligned with the opening through which CCU exhaust air is exhausted tothe atmosphere.
 15. The building structure according to claim 13,wherein the at least one through-hole opening is an opening throughwhich intake air from the atmosphere is introduced to the CCU and theone or more mounting elements is a frame member surrounding the openingthrough which intake air is introduced, wherein said frame member isconfigured in such a way that an intake opening of the CCU is alignedwith the opening through which intake air is introduced.
 16. Thebuilding structure according to claim 10, wherein a second exteriorgarage side wall spaced from a first exterior garage side wall on whichthe CCU is mounted is formed with a duct opening within which a ductextending to the CCU is fixed.
 17. The building structure according toclaim 16, wherein the duct opening is formed in the headroom between thehorizontal section of the track and the garage ceiling.
 18. The buildingstructure according to claim 10, which is additionally configured withat least one penetration formed in the garage ceiling, a correspondingconduit through which flows the refrigerant extending upwardly throughsaid at least one penetration.
 19. The building structure according toclaim 11, wherein the casing is configured with separated CCU intake andexhaust openings that prevent infiltration of exhaust air from theexhaust opening into intake air flowing to the intake opening.